At construction sites, materials often need to be delivered from ground level to elevated working areas (e.g., working areas supported by scaffolding). Construction workers may mix cement, concrete, or plaster in five gallon plastic buckets, hook a rope to the bucket bail/handle, and hoist the bucket up to the elevated working area using a pulley system. Failure of bucket handles and resulting injuries have created a need for improved systems for hoisting such buckets and other materials as well as lowering construction debris, tools, and other items to and from elevated work platforms.